About

Christina Koehler has been practicing traditional Chinese medicine, with a focus in acupuncture, for the last three years. Since graduating from Santa Monica’s Emperor’s College with her Master’s degree in Traditional Oriental Medicine, Christy completed an externship at the Venice Family Clinic where she treated orthopedic and endocrine disorders. In 2006, Christy began practicing acupuncture the Cypress Center, an innovative physical therapy and wellness center. In addition to the Cypress Center – she is also on staff at the California Health and Longevity Institute at the Four Seasons in West Lake Village, CA. She is also employed with a women’s health and fertility specialist in Santa Monica.
Christy first became interested in acupuncture when she travelled to China during the “Semester at Sea” study abroad program as a student at Berkeley. During a stop in Hong Kong, her group flew to Beijing to see the Great Wall. The students also made a stop at a medical clinic where a Chinese doctor took their pulses and examined their tongues. “I was facinated by his insights into our health just by using these two diagnostic tools,” Christy says.

That fall, when Christy returned to Berkeley for her senior year as a nutrition and international health major, she decided to write her thesis on traditional Chinese medicine, specifically acupuncture. As she learned more about the ancient art and how it had made its way to the West she became interested in advancing her studies in the area. Christy’s interest in acupuncture was further fueled when she came down with conjunctivitis, better known as “pink eye,” in the midst of writing her thesis. The student health center only offered antibiotic eye drops that seemed to worsen her condition, so Christy turned to a friend who was going through acupuncture school at the Five Branches Institute in Santa Cruz. He took her to class with him and even arranged for her to get free treatment from one of his teachers.

The Chinese doctor asked her questions about her illness as well as her stress level and emotional health. “These were questions I never got from my Western doctor,” she says. “I could see the mind/body connection at work, and it appealed to me from the start.” The doctor also gave her an herbal formula to boil, drink, and use to flush her eyes. The pink eye was gone the next day.
“I knew I wanted to be a healer, and that this was what I was meant to do, ” Christy says. “I started the program two years later and never looked back.”

When she’s not with patients, Christy enjoys practicing yoga, jogging on the beach, and sharing good food with friends and family.